Dumpster Diving Essay

It is common for people to throw away belongings that were once important to them. This is because our society has a tendency to be wasteful. In the essays “The Town Dump” by Wallace Stegner, “On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner, and “The Town Dump” by Howard Nemerov, the authors all display their opinions when it comes to the topic of value, and items that have been thrown away. Through the use of imagery, the three authors depict their attitudes towards the idea that one man’s trash may or may not be another man’s treasure. Therefore showing that every object can have a value to a person that others see as invaluable. Nemerov describes the dump with a disgusted tone, but also explains the value that others may find in it’s contents. Since he is not writing to persuade the reader in believing that the dump is a magnificent place, he uses imagery to portray its disgusting characteristics. “Though rarely, lying with bones and rotten meat, eggshells and mouldy bread, banana peels that no one will skid on, apple cores that caused neither the fall of man nor a theory of gravitation.” Nemerov depicts the …show more content…
Considering that Eighner has spent a majority of his life depending on dumpsters to survive, he is almost grateful for them, and finds value in what they hold. In this passage, Eighner uses imagery to describe discarded items that he considers necessities “The necessities of daily life I began to extract from dumpsters. Yes, we ate from them. Except for jeans, all my clothes came from dumpsters.” Since dumpsters clothe and feed him, the items inside become more valuable to Eighner. He explains that although the things found in a dumpster are thrown away, does not mean they are entirely invaluable “Dumpsters are full of things of some potential value to someone,” Others may not see an importance in discarded food or clothing, but some, like Eighner,